The Temple of the Tooth

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"What a goofy name," I first thought when I heard that we would be visiting the Temple of the Tooth. I later learned the interesting story behind it. After the cremation of the Buddha at Kushinager, the remains including one of his teeth were kept in India. During this time, Buddhism in India was undergoing hardship, and so the tooth was smuggled into Sri Lanka in the hair of a princess. It was first taken to the kingdom of Anuradhapura and later brought to several other kingdoms in Sri Lanka, until it reached its final resting place at the Kandyan kingdom in 1592. The temple was built within the royal palace complex and housed the ONLY surviving relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Monks conduct daily ritual worships in the inner chambers of the temple (we were able to see one!) They conduct these services three times a day: dawn, noon, and evening. On Wednesdays there is a symbolic bathing of the tooth with an herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers. The holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed amongst those present. There are also special religious programs conducted in the temple on every full moon, Puja, where large numbers of people participate. Four major ceremonies are held every year: Aluth Sahal Mangallaya, Avurudu Mangallaya, Esala Mangallaya, and Karthika Mangallaya, with Esala Mangallaya being the most important.
As soon as I walked (barefoot) into the temple, my jaw dropped in aw. I could not believe the beauty and mysterious charm that this temple had. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I bought some flowers and gave them as an offering to the Buddha. I must admit, as a Christian, it felt kinda weird, and a little bad in a way to offer something to someone that I do not pray to. It may sound weird, but I felt as if God would be disappointed in me, even a little sad, that I had given my attention to Buddha, than to him, during those few seconds of my offering. It was difficult to see this temple objectively, as student, simply learning the culture of another group of people, I too emerged myself with the other worshipers.

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